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Calvary blanks Country Day, 35-0

After Calvary Day’s stress-free 35-0 victory over crosstown rival Savannah Country Day, Cavaliers coach Mark Stroud told his players to savor the win for the weekend and get ready for a much more important game next week.

Calvary (8-1, 4-1 Region 3-A) bounced back from last week’s blowout loss to Savannah Christian by rushing for 340 yards and scoring all its touchdowns on the ground to retain the No. 2 spot in Region 3-A (East). The Cavaliers will essentially play a play-in game next week against the No. 3 team from Region 3-A (West) with a playoff berth on the line.

“We’re proud of the players because you never know what can happen against a rival,” Stroud said. “Country Day has a lot of character and class, and we knew this is a proud program that would play hard and play well. Things went our way up front, and anytime you have a chance to play against a crosstown rival and a good team like Country Day, we’re glad to come away with a win.”

Country Day (0-9, 0-5) was limited to 117 total yards, and sophomore quarterback Stuart Sligh was intercepted four times. Although the Cavaliers committed four turnovers of their own, Calvary’s Jake Clemens and Skylar Strickland each ran for more than 100 yards and picked off a pass against the Hornets.

In three quarters, Clemens carried eight times for 114 yards and a touchdown, while Strickland rumbled for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Calvary freshman Robert Heyward chipped in 76 yards and two touchdowns on only 10 carries.

“This means a lot because Country Day is a good program and always have been, so it’s a good feeling to get a win like this,” Clemens said. “It gives us a lot of momentum (for next week). We definitely didn’t want to take a chance on losing because we want to go into the playoffs with one loss and try to make a run for it.”

After the two teams traded turnovers on their first possessions, Clemens and the Cavaliers flexed their advantage. The Cavaliers led 7-0 after the first quarter before Clemens scored on a 7-yard run two minutes into the second quarter for a 14-0 lead, and Heyward scored three minutes later to make the score 21-0.

Country Day’s lone scoring threat came in the second quarter when Sligh drove the Hornets to the Calvary 33-yard line, but the drive ended with Sligh’s third interception of the first half.Calvary coughed up a fumble on its first possession of the second half, but the Cavaliers forced a punt and Strickland gashed the Hornets for a 65-yard run before plunging into the end zone for a 28-0 lead.

Calvary, which has won three games by seven points or less this season, was dominant against an outmanned Country Day. Stroud expects to play a Portal team next week that had won four games in row heading into Friday’s game against Treutlen.

“We feel very fortunate this season because we’ve played some games that were really close and we made plays to win,” Stroud said. “We understand that we’re fortunate to be where we are, and I’m excited about starting the playoffs. Everything is cleaned off, and we start a new season, basically.”